INFO

Nevermind is Nirvana's second album, released on September 24, 1991 by Geffen Records.

It was Nevermind which catapaulted Nirvana from an obscure Seattle-area band to critical and popular favorites, signalling the end of the stagnant hair metal ballads and bombastic anthems. The opening track, "Smells Like Teen Spirit", and its accompanying music video that depicted a high school pep rally gone awry, received massive airplay in late 1991, propelling the members of Nirvana to superstardom. Other hits include "Come as You Are" and "Lithium". Producer Butch Vig crafted Nirvana's distorted guitars, pounding drums, rumbling bass, and wailing vocals into catchy, engrossing tracks that appealed to a wide audience and set the standard for rock music throughout the 1990s.

As a reaction against hair metal bands, which were perceived as pompous and corporate-dominated by the alternative music communities, Nevermind is often considered one of the albums which most affected society. Along with perhaps Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Saturday Night Fever, Nevermind brought a counterculture to the mainstream, radically altering the musical landscape to allow for immediate hits from other grunge bands, like Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains.

Nevermind hit #1 on Billboard Music Chart's Top 200 albums and the Heatseekers chart.

TRACKLISTING

1. Smells Like Teen Spirit
2. In Bloom
3. Come as You Are
4. Breed
5. Lithium
6. Polly
7. Territorial Pissings
8. Drain You
9. Lounge Act
10. Stay Away
11. On a Plain
12. Something in the Way
13. Endless Nameless (hidden track)

Endless Nameless appears after ten minutes three seconds of silence once 'Something In The Way' has ended.

MULTIMEDIA

Smells Like Teen Spirit (1st performance)
Audio | Video

SONGS INFORMATION

1. Smells Like Teen Spirit
Recorded May-June, 1991. Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA.

2. In Bloom
Recorded May-June, 1991. Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA.

3. Come As You Are
Recorded May-June, 1991. Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA.

4. Breed
Recorded May-June, 1991. Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA.

5. Lithium
Recorded May-June, 1991. Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA.

6. Polly
Recorded April, 1990. Smart Studios, Wisconsin, WI.

7. Territorial Pissings
Recorded May-June, 1991. Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA.

8. Drain You
Recorded May-June, 1991. Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA.

9. Lounge Act
Recorded May-June, 1991. Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA.

10. Stay Away
Recorded May-June, 1991. Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA.

11. On A Plain
Recorded May-June, 1991. Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA.

12. Something In The Way
Recorded May-June, 1991. Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA.

13. Endless Nameless
Recorded May-June, 1991. Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA.

SONGS MEANING

Smells Like Teen Spirit - An attack on the apathy of our own generation.

In Bloom - An attack on people who listen to certain music for the wrong reason. Imagine the macho, gun toting guy who sings along to Nirvana, but has no clue what he's singing about.

Come As You Are - A song full of contradictions on how we act versus how we think society thinks we should act.

Breed - Growing up and being trapped by Middle Class America.

Lithium - A first person narrative of a nervous breakdown, or an update of the Marxist description of religion as 'Opiate of the masses'. An ode to disconnection.

Polly - Based on the actual kidnapping of a 14 year old girl and her torture.

Territorial Pissings - Multi-themed song that attacks macho men.

Drain You - A song about (plainly and simply) love. Highly medical theme.

Lounge Act - A song about having a certain vision and being smothered by a relationship.

Stay Away - An attack on any conformist clique.

On A Plain - Many small lines of poetry having multi themes.

Something in the Way - A song about Kurt's experiences living under a bridge when he was kicked out of home.

Endless, Nameless - Previously called “The Noise Jam.” An experimentalsong created when one of the takes on Lithium (Territorial Pissings according to Guitar World) went bad.

ALBUM PICTURES

Front | Back | CD

LINER NOTES

Spring is here again, tender age in bloom, he knows not what it means, sell the kids for food, we can have some more • The water is so yellow, I'm a healthy student, you're my vitamins • Take your time, hurry up, the choice is yours, don't be late • And just maybe I'm to blame for all I've heard but I'm not sure, I'm so excited I can't wait to meet you there but I don't care • I don't care if it's old, I don't mind if I don't have a mind, get away from your home • Have to have poison skin, give an inch take a smile • Never met a wise man, if so it's a woman, gotta find a way to find a way, I had better wait • One more special message to go, as defense I'm neutered and spayed, what the hell am I trying to say? I got so high that I scratched till I bled • The second coming came in last and out of the closet • At the end of the rainbow and your rope • Don't hurt yourself, I want some help to help myself, she's just as bored as me • I've got this friend you see, who makes me feel, I don't regret a thing • And the animals I've trapped have all become my pets • Our little group has always been and always will until the end, with the lights out it's less dangerous, here we are now, entertain us, I feel stupid and contagious, here we are now entertain us, a mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido, yay, yay, a denial, I'm worse at what I do best and for this gift I feel blessed, I found it hard, it was hard to find, oh well, whatever, nevermind

CREDITS

Nirvana - Producer, Engineer
Kirk Canning - Cello
Kurt Cobain - Guitar, Vocals, Photography
Dave Grohl - Drums, Vocals
Krist Novoselic - Bass guitar, Vocals
Jeff Sheehan - Assistant Engineer
Butch Vig - Producer, Engineer
Andy Wallace - Mixing
Howie Weinberg - Mastering
Michael Lavine - Photography
Robert Fisher - Artwork, Art Direction, Design, Cover Design
Craig Doubet - Assistant Engineer, Mixing
Kirk Weddle - Photography

REVIEW

Despite the hand-wringing the fanzines do each time an indie-rock hero signs a major-label deal, righteous postpunk stars from Hόsker Dό to Soundgarden have joined the corporate world without debasing their music. More often than not, ambitious left-of-the-dial bands gallantly cling to their principles as they plunge into the depths of commercial failure. Integrity is a heavy burden for those trying to scale the charts.

Led by singer-guitarist Kurt Cobain, Nirvana is the latest underground bonus baby to test mainstream tolerance for alternative music. Given the small corner of public taste that nonmetal guitar rock now commands, the Washington State trio's version of the truth is probably as credible as anyone's. A dynamic mix of sizzling power chords, manic energy and sonic restraint, Nirvana erects sturdy melodic structures – sing-along hard rock as defined by groups like the Replacements, Pixies and Sonic Youth – but then at-tacks them with frenzied screaming and guitar havoc. When Cobain revs into high punk gear, shifting his versatile voice from quiet caress to raw-throated fury, the decisive control of bassist Chris Novoselic and drummer Dave Grohl is all that keeps the songs from chaos. If Nirvana isn't onto anything altogether new, Nevermind does possess the songs, character and confident spirit to be much more than a reformulation of college radio's high-octane hits.

Nirvana's undistinguished 1989 debut, Bleach, relied on warmed-over Seventies metal riffs, but the thrashing Nevermind boasts an adrenalized pop heart and incomparably superior material, captured with roaring clarity by coproducer Butch Vig. Cued in with occasional (and presumably intentional) tape errors, most of the songs – like "On a Plain," "Come as You Are" and "Territorial Pissings" – exemplify the band's skill at inscribing subtlety onto dense, noisy rock. At the album's stylistic extremes, "Something in the Way" floats a translucent cloud of acoustic guitar and cello, while "Breed" and "Stay Away" race flat-out, the latter ending in an awesome meltdown rumble.

Too often, underground bands squander their spunk on records they're not ready to make, then burn out their energy and inspiration with uphill touring. Nevermind finds Nirvana at the crossroads –scrappy garageland warriors setting their sights on a land of giants.